Ohio extends ban on Wells Fargo business by six months

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ohio will extend its ban on doing business with Wells Fargo & Co because the bank has not done enough to help consumers or clean up its culture, the state's governor said on Thursday.

"This bank has not yet regained the public's confidence," Governor John Kasich said in a statement. "Wells Fargo still has work to do."

Ohio cut ties with Wells Fargo last October after the bank reported that millions of phony accounts may have been created without customer approval.

At the time, Kasich said Ohio would avoid working with the bank on debt offerings or financial services for one year. In recent months, Wells Fargo has said it found other customer abuses with mortgage auto insurance products.

On Thursday, Kasich extended his ban through April.

"I'm willing to revisit this situation in six months," Kasich said in a statement.

A Wells Fargo official said on Thursday that the bank is committed to repairing its image with the public.

"We will continue in our efforts to rebuild trust with our customers in Ohio and nationwide," said the spokesman. "We are disappointed in the governor's decision."

Other cities and states have enacted similar bans, including New York City, Chicago, Massachusetts, Illinois and California. It could not immediately be determined if all of those bans are still in place.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Patrick Rucker in Washington; Additional reporting by Dan Freed in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)